Re-dressing disability through fashionable knitwear designs that support well-being and agency for women living with Raynaud’s phenomenon

This article reports on findings from a practice-based Ph.D. project where the study explored the lived experience of women living with a disability, specifically Raynaud’s phenomenon, to inform a fashionable knitwear collection called Re-dress, and contribute to current discourse on disability, clothes and fashion design. Raynaud’s is triggered by the cold or a drop in atmospheric temperature, high levels of anxiety or stress, causing the narrowing of the blood vessels. Such an ‘attack’ causes numbness, pain, fatigue, dexterity and mobility issues. Raynaud’s is usually managed by keeping warm using appropriate clothing; however, the research identified a range of ‘design issues’ within existing clothing products. Some fail to mitigate the effects of cold and poor circulation effectively and others have limited appeal in terms of aesthetics. The project adopted a human-centred design approach, where participants’ desires and needs guide the design process. Qualitative data were gathered via semi-structured interviews and a focus group to develop and create the Re-dress capsule collection. The collection was then assessed by participants and feedback interviews were carried out, which this article discusses. Receiving feedback on the collection was important to gauge the success of the design interpretations. The research highlights that balancing performance with aesthetics is key to promote health and well-being; aesthetics supports social engagement for a multidimensional experience, as aesthetics is fundamental to enhance wearer’s pleasurable and inclusive experiences on a personal and public dimension; trying items of clothing highlights key design features for disability which increases wearer–product interaction to enhance agency and ownership, and attention is in the detail when designing suitable clothes for disabled people that wear them. The Re-dress capsule collection explicitly outlines how to marry performance, aesthetics and sensorial modalities in a garment.